SHAH ALAM - The report on the final investigations of the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide has yet to be released to the public because the Selangor government's decision to declassify the report is not supported by the federal government.

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said that the state government and its agency the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council have written to the Works Ministry and the Federal Cabinet seeking approval to have the report released to the public but to no avail.

In a statement released today,he said that the state had repeated its request that the federal government should release the report in the interest of the people, especially Bukit Antarabangsa residents.

"The report which was prepared by the Works Ministry's slope department was given to
the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council last September without the knowledge of the State
Government," he said.

"It was only in November that the State was informed of the completion of the report."

'State will protect officials'

Khalid also said that since the report touched on land issues, which are under the legal purview of the State,the State Executive Councillor (Exco) agreed to use the power of the Menteri Besar under Section 2C of the Official Secrets Act 1972 to declassify the document.

In a move to protect Selangor state officials, Khalid said that "other state government officials are not involved in the decision making process relating to the declassification and therefore should not be made legally liable to the action."

The state, he said, will protect all its officers from any legal liability if charges are preferred against them.

Khalid also said that the state government is doing all it can to secure the approval of the relevant federal bodies and agencies to make the report public.

It is studying various avenues to declassify the report if the federal government refuses to do so.

"The state government cannot allow the federal government to hide behind the Official Secrets Act and continue to deny the residents and the people of Selangor their right to information on this matter," Khalid said.